leim held her close

Emma sighed, slowly drifting off. She slowly fell asleep, a nightmare grabbing her immediately. Her mother, disapproving of Leim and yelling at her. Her mother reached out and striked her, bringing Emma to tears and collapsing. She woke up then, gasping as real tears filled her eyes

leim held her close "what's wrong"

Emma couldn't form words. She sat there, her head in her hands and cried

"hey its ok "

Emma flinched from his touch, the nightmare still playing in her mind

"hey im not gonna hurt you " he pulled back

Emma got up and took some deep breaths, recognizing who Leim was now. She paced back and forth, trying to stop the terror that held her like chains

leim stayed in the bed giving her space but watching her

Emma sat down, shaking. She couldn't stop the shaking and the tears and the sight of her mother striking her. It'd happened too often in her childhood and Leim had begun to bring comfort until the nightmare when her wound was ripped open again